"Having witnessed many mergers and acquisitions in the last 10 years of my career, I have seen first-hand the variety of breadth and scope within the role at different firms.
“This can range from administrating the production of valuations and very templated reports, right through to a highly technical or client-facing role, where a paraplanner will sit in on client meetings and present cashflow modelling.
"The real question therefore is do the firm or planners have a clear understanding of what they want from a paraplanner and how can they add the most value?”
He added business size and structure, areas of specialism, proposition, average net worth of client and the number of clients will all impact a paraplanner’s role but in essence, the paraplanner should be the lynchpin within the financial planning team, joining all elements of the process together and helping to create sound financial plans.
He said: “In my view, the paraplanner is often the unsung hero of the financial advice process, allowing planners to focus more time talking to clients whilst offering essential support, often in the background.”
Harrison added a big part of a paraplanner’s value lies in their ability to constructively challenge the planner and their thought process.
He said: “Confidence, a good relationship with the planner and excellent communication skills are all required to do this effectively, but I always encourage our paraplanners never to simply be ‘order takers’ but to add value by questioning everything and sometimes playing devil’s advocate to really put a financial plan to the test.”
Aamina Zafar is a freelance financial journalist
